Wall gauge



Dec. 2, 1924-.v

' J. F. KAUFFMAN WALL GAUGE Filed Jan. s, 1923 atbozmu:

Patented Dec. 2, 1924.

1 PTE'E' :FFEC;

WALL GAUGE.

Application fi1erl January 6, 1923.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J ACOB F. KAUFFMAN, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Hollidaysburg, in the county of Blair and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lVall Gauges, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to gauges for setting masonry and the like, and has for an object the provision of novel means that will automatically adjust itself to indicate the vertical; the said invention having novel means forguiding the operator in positioning the device with relation to the structure being built, including also, means for properly anchoring the device with relation to such structure.

A still further object of this invention is to produce a gauge of the character indicated in which the elements employed for indicating the vertical are detachably secured to the cross arms of a blade, thereby making them readily renewable, should they i become impaired or fractured.

The. invention has for a further object the provision of means whereby the indicating element or elements may be sorelated to the side of the wall to be built that the said element or elements will lie in such proximity to or even contiguous to the material being laid, as to enable the operator to accurately lay the material in the first instance, thus doing away with the use of a straight edge as is now commonly employed for indicating movement which must be given the material already lald before it is really plumb.

By use of this invention, therefore, a great deal of time can be saved, since that step of the operation which is now performed for straightening the wall may be omitted.

It is a further object of this invention to produce a bracket which may be readily applied to the newly laid structure that will compensate for joints of different thicknesses, while at the same time causing the main frame element to assume a position which will insure the proper operation and location of the gauge element.

It is a further object of this invention to produce a gauge of the character indicated which will be. strong and durable and com paratively inexpensive to manufacture.

lVith the foregoing and other objects in Serial No. 611,088.

view, the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which-- Figure 1 illustrates a view in elevation of a gauge embodying the invention;

Figure 2 illustrates an edge view there of;

Figure 3 thereof;

Figure 4 illustrates a section on the line t4t of Fig. 1;

Figure 5 illustrates a section on the line 55 of Fig. 4:;

Figure 6 illustrates a section on the line 66 of Fig. 4; and

Figure 7 illustrates an enlarged detail perspective view of a fragment of one of the arms.

In these drawings, 10 denotes a frame which is preferably rectangular, and in the present embodiment of the invention, it has an integral trunnion 11 on which an inner frame 12 is mounted, by reason of the fact that the inner frame has recessed bosses 13 and 14, either of which may be caused to engage the trunnion, the said inner frame being reversible, as will presently appear.

A trunnion screw 15 is threaded through the frame and engages the opposite boss and the screw permits an adjustment which will regulate the freedom of movement of the inner frame. The inner frame 12 also has adjustable bearings 16 and 27 preferably threaded in its sides, and these bearings are, in the present embodiment of the invention, in the nature of screws with recessed ends that form the bearings, and trunnions 18 and 19 are rotatably applied to the said bearings. The. trunnions project from a blade 20 which extends above and below the trunnions, and the lower end of the blade is intended to be weighted as by a plumb line 21, or in any suitable manner as by a weight or the like, the only necessity being that the specific gravity of the weight should be sufficiently great to cause the blade to assume and retain a vertical position as shown in Fig. 1. The blade is preferably illustrates a top plan view graduated in inches, but that is a detail of construction which may be changed to suit particular requirements.

The blade has pairs of oppositely dis posed arms 22 and 23, the former being located preferably just above the trunnion, and the latter preferably being at the upper end. The arms are preferably provided with recesses such as 2st in their ends which are of a depth equal to the diameter of the gaging element 25 which they will hold. The gaging element is preferably a cord which can be strung from the end of one arm to the end of another arm and then forced into the V-shaped notches 26, one of which is in the edge of each arm.

The blade has apertures 27 and 23 through which the flexible connection may be strung, and if the friction encountered between the gaging elements and the arms is not sufficient to retain the gaging elements in place, the gaging elements may be looped through the apertures 27 and 28 and around the blade to insure their being retained in place.

As has been stated, the gaging element preferably comprises cords or strings as they can be readily renewed when they are worn or impaired and they will not interfere with the balance of the blade which, of course, must be exact in order that the gaging device will assume a vertical position.

A spur or anchor 29 projects from the frame 10 and it is preferably of resilient character. It preferably extends obliquely and it is intended that when the spur is forced into the joint between courses of masonry that the spur will bear against the masonry and obviate any movement of the frame after it has been anchored.

As a means for accurately determining the position that the 'device shall occupy at the corners of a structure, the block 30 may be secured on the frame by a set screw 31, or if desired, it may be integral with the frame. This block has diverging arms and 33, and the angle at which one arm may extend to another may be made to suit par- .ticular requirements, in fact, blocks with bearings at different angles may be employed, but it is the purpose of the inventor that the diverging portions 32 and 33 shall bear against the course of material at the corners of the structure, and it will therefore be accurately set when the spur is forced into the joint and these bearing surfaces engage the wall.

Provision, such as lock nuts 34, may be provided where desirable to retain the screws in their adjustedpositions, but that is, of course, a feature which will be understood by one skilled in the art.

By having the arms arranged in pairs, one of each pair being on opposite sides of the blade, the blade is accurately balanced and the gaging devices are reversible so that if one becomes impaired, the inner frame may be turned to present the other gaging element to the working surface.

I claim:

1. ln a gauge, a frame having anchoring means, a frame oscillatably mounted in the first mentioned frah'ie, a blade trunnioned in the second mentioned frame, the trunnions of the blade being at right angles to the trunnions of the frame in which the blade is trunnioned, pairs of arms on the blade, the arms of each pair projecting oppositely from the blade, and a gaging element extending from the blade of one pair to a blade of the other pair and means for securing the gaging element in place.

2. In a gauge, a frame having anchoring means, frame oscillatably mounted in the first mentioned frame, a blade 'trunnioned in the second mentioned frame, the trunnions of the blade being at right angles to the trunnions of the frame in which the blade is trunnioned, pairs of arms on the blade, the arms of each pair projecting oppositely from the blade, the said arms haw ing recesses and slots in their ends, and gaging elements each extending from an arm of one pair to an arm of the other pair, the said gaging elements lying in the recesses of the ends of the arms and frictionally engaging the arms in the said slots.

JACOB F. KAU F FMAN 

